"It is not known yet if it was a suicide blast," Balochistan Home Secretary Akbar Haripal told RFE/RL. "But we can't rule it out. It is possible. We are in very initial stages and we are investigating."

At least five of those killed were police officers.

Wasim Beg, a spokesman at a local hospital, said some of the wounded were in critical condition.

Resource-rich Balochistan, bordering Afghanistan and Iran, has been plagued by sectarian violence, Islamist militant attacks, and a separatist insurgency that has led to thousands of casualties since 2004.